Today was an adventurous day from the start to the end. I woke up at 6:50AM to get ready for today's awesome day. Our cohort was preparing a surprise for someone special. We coordinated tonight's event for several days now, but still there were flaws and all. What really mattered at the end was that everyone was happy and having fun. That's all it matters.
Our breakfast group consisting of Chiamaka, Elexis, Emily, Joanne, Justeen, and I decided on Dunkin' Donuts instead of 1920's Commons for breakfast as we wanted to try something new. The walk took a little less than five minutes, which was rather short. It took a while for us youngsters to decide what to order because Dunkin' Donuts was new to us. I ended up ordering the same as Elexis, a ham n egg sandwich. The biscuit bread itself resembles McDonald's sausage biscuit in a way so I would rate that particular item as average. Now that Dunkin' Donuts has been discovered by us foodies, I will do some research and see if they have a secret menu that I can try some other time. Ever since we left California, we never visited Starbucks so Chiamaka was craving a caramel frappaccino before heading off to class.
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| Enjoying the view of the line that I did not join :) |
Our morning session started once again with Qi Gong and exercising came about. Thighs were the main focus of today's lesson and at the end four Teaching Fellows group were casted to North Philadelphia to observe and learn about the less privileged part of Philly. We were in close proximity with the torn down houses before arriving at Village of Arts & Humanities. It reminded me of Richmond and Oakland's poor parts. The two cities are actually really similar.
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| In class drumming session@Village of Arts and Humanities |
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| Chiamaka's footprints |
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| Most interesting interpretation of trees I have ever seen |
The village's coordinator started the tour next to the biggest mural around. It had been built for Black-Asian peace in the ol' days. Our tour finished at 12:40PM and by the time we got back to University City, there was only one hour to eat and complete the mysterious task. Elexis stayed in the lectures for the morning so she went to find us with a WaWa hoagie in her hand. We all let out a glup. There wasn't time available to get lunch after the task, so I just munched on some LifeSavers (get it? :D) The afternoon session started with the classroom being in large circles to make it an open discussion for all. Tony lead an intense yet informative discussion about times of of the past and how the social ladder changed in today's society but still lingers the same type of system. We got divided into Teaching Fellow groups and that ended half and hour later than expected so we had to run back to our Quad and get ready for tonight's meal at Baby Blues BBQ with Mr. Hillyer.
Mr. Hillyer met us in front of the quad at 6PM and was surprised when seeing us dressed up. I had a feeling he knew something was going on but remained collected. We took a nice cohort walk to Baby Blues BBQ and our airport trips suddenly came into mind. I missed the times when we were catching the flights and running towards our shuttle in the rain. Now that our classes at UPenn started, its rare that the whole cohort comes together as one. I smiled a real big toothy one to see everyone laughing and conversing more intimate than before.We arrived at the restaurant in ten minutes of walking the shortcuts (way shorter than walking main streets). Upon getting the menu, we were all happy because it's been a while since eating some yummy food together.
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| Yummy! |
The amazing Grilled Shrimp with sides of mashed sweet potato and coleslaw was the bomb. Their sauce is undeniably important to the platter, especially the XXX (extreme spice). Everyone enjoyed their dish well since the dorm foods wasn't the best meal option. Then, we told the waiter, "We want dessert!" and she took the Ben & Jerry's Vanilla/Chocolate Ice Cream Cake and everyone sitting close to us sang Happy Birthday to Mr. Hillyer. Sadly, it got melted because of unexplained circumstance, but Mr. Hillyer appreciated it regardless and he said it melted his heart. Aww. We were all so happy when Mr. Hillyer blushed because of the surprise. Through this event, we bonded even more and I'm happy we can consider him as a respected friend of ours and call him John!
Currently at 1:42AM, I am recalling last night's event and can't help but smile as I think about the flashbacks. What a night!
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